A group of cultural and historical preservation groups filed On Monday, US President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit seeking to block further closure of the John F. Kennedy Center, which the president believes is necessary to restore revenue.
The plaintiffs include the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, the Society of Architectural Historians and the Cultural Landscape Foundation. The lawsuit alleged that President Trump’s recently announced plan to close the Kennedy Center for two years for renovations was unnecessary and unlawful. The complaint states that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees are attempting to “fundamentally alter this iconic property without complying with basic federal historic preservation and environmental laws and without obtaining necessary congressional approval.”
The plaintiffs asked the District Court of the District of Columbia to approve the plan because of recent comments by President Trump and the Kennedy Center board, which the plaintiffs contend would mean a large-scale gutting of the center. The plaintiffs asked the court to enjoin the Trump administration from temporarily closing the Kennedy Center until all of the necessary conditions to undertake a renovation project of this magnitude are met.
The lawsuit joins in several others questioning President Trump’s plans to renovate other historic buildings in Washington, DC. Most recently, a federal judge rejected a request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent President Trump from demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for a ballroom.
